Social Fears Versus Simple Shyness

It's not true that social fears can be casually dismissed as mere shyness

, but at the same time, not every fear of being in a public situation is a pathology needing medical treatment either. There is in fact a genuine type of shyness that can simply be "gotten over," or overcome with a little work. Discerning between simple shyness and social pathology can often be a delicate balancing act. If someone is really incapacitated with anxiety attacks or other effects of their fears, then they need to be treated properly, yet no doctor wants to prescribe medication to someone who doesn't really need it.

Shyness usually manifests at a young age, where the person feels nervousness and fear in an unfamiliar social situation or when they encounter new people. Much of the nervousness revolves around the feeling that they will do something to look foolish in front of the people, or that they will have negative judgments made of them.

This phenomenon often fades as the person grows older and learns that they can do public things without looking foolish, and their confidence builds. When the fears of social circumstances get worse and can't simply be "gotten over" with a little work, they are identified as genuine anxiety disorders.

One of the characteristics of social fears that goes beyond simple shyness is that even though the sufferer knows rationally that there is little to fear, they find it virtually impossible to overcome their anxiety through will power, pep talks or confidence exercises. Meanwhile, they find themselves almost incapacitated by the anxiety attacks or other intense symptoms that accompany even their slightest foray into a public situation.

Shyness can sometimes be mistaken for and treated as one of the social fears, partly because cognitive therapy is one of the possible treatments. Using the methods of this type of therapy sometimes makes it seem like the "pep talk" sort of work that people often do for shyness. Yet the right treatment for social phobias is often very different. Cognitive therapy plus the right medications can help a person address a genuine phobia, but would be definite overkill for ordinary shyness.

by: Darren T. Wilson

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